Here are several of the key pieces required for the SuperCharger conversion. The photo includes various CNC machined, anodized, and dip brazed pieces including the SuperCharger mounting bracket, the aluminum manifold plates that will replace the rubber OEM compliance style plates, the one piece three belt lower pulley, the bronze and stainless steel SuperCharger belt tensioner, intercooler filler neck assembly, and the water diverter blocks.

Here the OEM backing pate is being trimmed at one of the stamping lines so as to insure proper rotor clearance and yet retain the required backing plate for the emergency brake system. Once the trimming process has been completed the area will be painted in a satin black finish as OEM before assembling the Brembo brakes.

During this process items such as the rubber intake manifolds/compliance fittings are discarded and in their place will be CNC machined billet manifolds designed to be sealed with serviceable laser cut base gaskets and o-rings to seal the manifolds to the underside of the plenum.

Ready to have the coils dropped into place and then the coil cover installed. With this portion of the engine once again sealed it is time to begin the engine bay modification which includes numerous items including the relocation of the oil filter and the power steering reservoir over to the passenger side (left hand driver models).

Here the power steering bracket. The reservoir was previously located on the driver side shock tower however it is now located next to the ABS control module on the passenger side. In addition to the relocation an alternate power steering reservoir (also an OEM BMW part of the same style ) will be used however the nipple locations are different.

Here is a picture of the DSC pump in it's OEM location being prepped to be relocated from the outside to the inside of the frame rail to create the necessary clearance for the Supercharger's intake and air filtration system.

Here the SC'er has been put in place for the first time for the purpose of confirming the final location of the system's by-pass valve location before completing the welding and then sending the lower plenum out for powder coating.

Here Greg is completing the welding process required on the lower plenum. This process included the installation of the by-pass valve neck assembly as well as the closing of a few OEM drain holes as the means to create a sealed assembling for the supercharging of this gal.

The remote starter button installation moves forward. The OEM tray that once housed the cigarette lighter has been modified and the push button plate has been fit. Now the plate will be sent out for powder coat and then final assembly.

Here are several of the completed pieces ready for final installation including the likes of the carbon fiber intake tube, the custom air filter adapter and filter, and the intercooler circulatory pump.

Here the newly fabricated pieces have been set in place and XRP's HS-79 hose has been connected as the means to confirm fit in preparation of final assembly and the subsequent installation of the super charger and the component overlays that follow. The HS-79 hose is best suited in this application because of it's extreme design characteristics such as larger ID and smaller OD when compared to other brands of #10 hose as well as it's ability to resist kinking (meaning sharper radiuses are doable) as well as the long term service life when used in this type of application.

Here the AutoMeter gauges have been inset into the custom fabricated pillar gauge mount which was wrapped and stitched in to place using OEM interior trim material. With the satin finish bezel and aluminum face these gauges have a finish look that coincides well with the OEM gauges and trim.

Final assembly of the plenum now configured for the supercharger is underway for the last time now using the custom cut throttle body gaskets between the face of the throttle body and the base of the custom CNC machined manifold plates.

Mission accomplished; the new custom pillar cover with the integrated AutoMeter gauges has been successfully installed all that remains is the tying in of the wires and plumbing to various data collection points.

Here the center of the dash has been reassembled complete with the updated OEM wide screen integrated with the latest OEM DVD based navigation and the custom "Starter Button" integration has been completed. The center console panel and armrest assemble will remain out until the final wiring has been completed and tested.

Here the gal is beginning to come into her own as the final assembly process continues. Certainly there remains much in the way of detail work to do as the process unfolds and yet for most this is yet another very exciting stage of the project.

Something worth sharing; there was extreme difficulty removing this pan because it had been removed earlier and they elected not to use a new OEM metal pan seal but rather what must have been a tube of hard setting sealant to both correct a previously damaged seal as well as to prevent leaks. This pan seal requires "NO" sealant as it is a compression seal placed neatly in-between two nicely machined surfaces. The problem with the removal after sealant such as this is used is the fact that the pan is thin along the edges so no prying could be done; the entire sealing surface had to be methodically cut so as to release the pan and yet not damage the machined surfaces. Furthermore the sealant could have migrated into the pan itself and caused significant problems throughout the dry sump oiling system. These gals have "MANY" needle size orifices and could have easily been plugged then causing even greater damage. So the moral of the story is follow the OEM procedures for R&D or do not do it at all. As one such as example; the factory does not use sealants in certain areas for a very good reason.

Here the lower pan has been removed to facilitate the installation of the supercharger drain line. You will notice that the XRP HS-79 hose are presently hung up with a bungee cord to keep them out of the way for this process and then once the supercharger drain line is in place these will be placed back in their custom stainless steel holders that are located under the pan.

As the gals make their way through Area-51 they are treated to everything from basic tweaks to some of the most extreme performance options imaginable, exquisite attention to detail, and finish work that will forever set these projects apart from the masses. Regularly you can hear it said "long before we care how much you know we want to see how much you care"; and care we do which is fortunately further supported by how much we know. Here the underside of this custom Carbon Fiber hood is being fit with custom Mylar inserts for both looks as well as heat deflection.

Here the process of installing the custom Mylar inserts is well underway however this could happen only after the initial material patterns were created.

Here you can see the last of the relocated fluid transfer lines have been installed. The blue lines are XRP's product as are the primary oil transfer lines as mentioned earlier during this project and the #4 steel braided supercharger oil feed line. The A/C compressor had to be removed one last time during this process so as to properly secure the line with the custom stainless steel brackets.

Here you can see all of the custom relocated fluid transfer lines installed with the A/C compressor back in place. The lines have all been secured with custom stainless steel brackets that look good, secure the lines in a manner so as to protect them over time all while affording ease of service as the years go by.

Here the modified OEM bumper has the reinforcement set into place so that the final placement of the heat exchanger can be determined prior to the fabricating of the custom stainless steel heat exchanger mounting brackets. The installation of the bumper once completed is an OEM with only one exception; the two large securing bolts will now be inserted and secured from behind the bumper whereas originally they were accessible front within the front of the grill.

As with every project there are always unique twist and personal touches. One such personal touch with this project is the integrating of a dual tone exhaust system. These pieces were designed as OEM Lamborghini exhaust valves however are now being made a part of the dual tone system specifically for this gal. So as to remain true to the project's name "Stealth Mode" she will retain an exhaust note similar to OEM so as to be able to traverse even the most conservative of neighborhoods with barely an eye brow raised however. Upon the flipping of a switch the beast within will be allowed to "Scream".

Here the custom stainless steel oil filter drain line is in the final stages of fabrication. This is required because by relocating the oil filter canister from the driver (left side) to the passenger side the OEM design is no longer applicable.

Here the custom stainless steel front grill have been completed and is now ready to be power-coated. Once it returns from the power-coater it will be installed and securely fastened with small #10 stainless steel button-head socket cap bolts.

Here the custom mounting system for the electric fan is being fabricated. The OEM mechanical fan is removed for two reasons with the primary one being that if the OEM fan were to come apart it would be devastating to the carbon fiber and stainless steel plumbing pieces integrated as the result of the supercharger system.

Here is one of the many cool pieces during the water injection installation process. This particular piece was created over a year ago when Richard; the owner of AquaMist and I were addressing a specific need on a Z8. I wanted to integrate a water draw line off the OEM windshield washer tank and after numerous chats this pieces was created by Richard and his team. It has now found its way onto the E39 M5 as well.

Here is one of the custom wiring harnesses fabricated during this super charger conversion process. This one has already been tied into the DME compartment and is now ready to be run to the respective component. The harnesses are all incased in an OEM style mesh wire sleeve for looks and to protect from chaffing.

Here the oil separator is being fit into place to verify that there are no clearance issues to address before it is permanently mounted. It is at this stage of the conversion process that space becomes extremely limited.

Here all of the custom stainless steel tubing for the intercooler, the crank case venting, and the oil separator systems have been installed along with all of the required rubber hoses tying it all together.

Here the nose of the gal is back in place. At this time a few details need to be tended to and then the front bumper cover is ready for the final installation as such the conversion process has taken shape and now it is time for the numerous detail items and personal touches as requested by the owner to be completed.

Here the front bumper assembly which now includes the heat exchanger and the AquaMIst water injection pump has been installed as this gal gets closer to being able to stretch her legs a bit. The next item being changed are the lower OEM running lights. We are installing the later version that have the optically clear rather than diffused lens. It will be during this process that we will also be incorporating the strobe lights that were previously installed which is another one of the many cool features of this gal.

Here the strobe filament has been successfully installed and now the lamp is ready to be installed into the front bumper. The strobe lights inserted into the lower OEM driving lights are a component of a complete system of strobes now located in the front as well as within the rear OEM lamps. These are an extremely high intensity strobe with a high cycle rate (meaning flash rate) so when they are fired up give a impression similar to what one might expect to see if an under cover officer pulled up behind you or in this case you will likely see them as this gal is pulling away. Just consider for a moment being an under cover patrol person in an extreme supercharged BMW M5. This feature further adds to the gal's project description "Stealth Mode". If I were to speculate I would say that if this gal were to want a lane and flip the strobe lights on most folks would quickly move over and allow her by happy knowing that they were not being pulled over for a ticket. Now we are not sanctioning this system but rather sharing another personal touch that if used properly could be considered more a safety feature when compared to it's already truly cool factor.

Here the new optically clear lens version of the running light has been installed. You can see the blue strobe filament through the lens which will make it much more pronounced when compared to the original diffused lens.

Here is the electrical brain trust for this gal. Within this area are the DME as well as numerous relays, fuses as well as centralized power and grounding points from which a great number of the gals systems are controlled. At the moment the picture depicts "Chaos" and this comes as the result of having to carefully unwrap all of the existing harnesses for access so as to be able to successfully integrate the new systems in such a way that when completed they appears as if there from the day she was built. As the result of this supercharger conversion there are several additional relays and fuses being installed for systems such as the custom electric fan conversion, the AquaMist water injection system and the intercooler pump. The goal once completed is to have it appear as if we were never within or made changes to this area.

Here the custom machined supercharger collar and by-pass sleeve have been hand fit into place and the bonding process is underway. We use heat to activate the custom Hysol formula as created by Loctite for us specifically for this process.

Here the heart of the custom intake system has been assembled. A slight modification is made to the pair of MAFs and then they are connected to the custom fabricated aluminum intake pipe with high quality cord reinforced silicon sleeves.

This customer had the custom remote starter button installed as a part of the supercharger conversion process as such the combination cigarette lighter and accessory plug normally available in the center console had to be removed. It was as the result of this that we elected to install an alternant accessory plug under the accordion style door located within the center console for items such as his cell phone, portable PDA, etc. Certainly this has been done by others; including our self however the goal for us as always is to have it integrated and not simply installed. In addition we want to make sure that the item installed poses no future service concerns. Most of the accessory outlets that we have seen installed by others use a couple simple self tapping plastic screws which over time "will" come loose and even worst are those that we see installed using little more than double sided tape. To properly install the accessory outlet it takes a bit of work however the results are more than worth it. When driving down the road and blindly inserting the charge plug to your cell phone the last thing you want to concern yourself with is whether the accessory plug is going to come loose and fall out.

Here you can see that in order to do so properly the compartment is a dual wall construction so we had to bore a couple access holes so as to be able to insert the stainless steel #6 Nylock nuts and then secure them to the allen head socket cap screws.

Here the MAF harnesses are being extended. This is required because of the non OEM location of the custom intake system to which the MAFs are mounted. As is the case with most things we do this to the extreme level as well. During the course of the extending the two MAF harnesses a total of 9 wires are inserted. Now it would be less expensive and far easier to simply run 9 pieces of wire any color or as we see "ALL" the time all one color which would function just fine however if there was ever a problem it becomes a technicians "NIGHTMARE" to trace the problem. For the most part all of the wires used for extending and modifying harnesses are the exact same colors including gauge and trace lead color where applicable as OEM. In rare instances if we were not able to locate the predominant color with the appropriate trace lead color we simply retain the predominant color. During the fabricating and modifying of the various wiring harnesses we use only the Factory recommended procedures including the use of only OEM wiring connectors. BMW has made it clear that they do not want these wires soldered because of the concern for secondary resistance, corrosion, etc.

Here the assembly of the MAF harnesses is in the final stages. One of the sets shown has the OEM style braided one piece wiring harness wrap already installed. The braided wire wrap is for both esthetics as well and the protecting of the wiring harness.

Here the custom carbon fiber intake system has been installed for the last time. During this process the secondary systems such as the supercharger's by-pass system has been plumbed as well. The engine bay now has the look of a mechanical marvel as well as simply aesthetically fricken awesome. At this phase all of the secondary harnesses have been completed and are being laid into place for the last time.

Here the gal's central processing department that maintains the likes of the DME has had all of the secondary system's integrated. The only item that remains is to band strap the three ground wires presently wrapped in blue tape. The band strapping of the bundled wires such as 12 volt constant, 12 volt switched, and ground is the OEM method as such we follow it. The yellow caps seen in the picture are those we installed after the integration was completed. All of the signals for the secondary pillar mounted gauges are now live as are the electric fan, the intercooler circulatory pump, and the Aqua Mist water injection system. Now we need to remount the OEM horns which will allow us to button up the driver side head light and then we can complete the detail work on the interior wiring which included the iPod integration as well.

She is getting very close to going home. At this stage the proverbial punch- list consists of only a few items and yet how they are completed will make the difference between another completed "Master Piece" or simply a project completed. I share this because often times people get anxious at this stage and become time constrained versus results oriented and all too often we see projects completed by others where this is blatantly obvious.

Here the supercharger's custom carbon fiber 1 into 2 discharge tube is having the custom machined Aqua Mist water injection bungs bonded into place. This is one of the last steps before this assembly is installed for the last time.

Here the engine bay has been completed. The Aqua Mist water injection system has been primed and checked, the first round of programming has been completed, and all of the primary systems have been tested. The only remaining within the engine bay is the installation of the OEM fresh air filter assemblies.

Here the gal's heart has been fired and being run through a series of test prior to buttoning up the underside of the gal. All of her fluids have been topped up and a complete temperature cycling of the gal's heart is underway. We still need to mount the OEM horns and possibly a European style siren before installing all of the under body panels. Here the OEM horns have been mounted on a custom bracket and now the lower front corner of the gal is ready to be sealed up for the last time.

Here is the gal's heart being run in once again after all of the tuning has been completed. Here the primary securing strip that was punched out in a Strip-It machine is being fit to the lower spoiler in preparation of the final installation.

Now that the final installation of the custom lower valance has been completed the natural finish stainless steel fasteners were replaced with black powder coated button head cap bolts as one of the final details.

The following are pictures of the customer's final personal touch underway. He wanted the ability to have both a quiet (Stealth Mode) beast when traversing through town and yet once on the open roads also to be able to open her up both from a performance standpoint and an audible standpoint. After numerous discussions the system was agreed to and the various pieces acquired to bring it together. In this system's case we are using Lamborghini exhaust diverter valves as the primary portion of the conversion. They are a cast and stainless assembly as such should provide a long service life.

Here the surgery is underway. We began with a new pair of Super Sprint high flowing mufflers that are of a noise/sound level only slightly higher when compared to OEM.

Here the assemblies have been completely installed and now all that remains is the connecting of the vacuum lines to the diverter valves through the vacuum reservoir and then firing up the control circuitry.

Here the electric vacuum solenoid has been neatly mounted within the same area that the brake booster and master cylinder resides. The solenoid has been plumbed and the electrical connections made. In order for this system to work without the need for a secondary vacuum canister (this was a viable consideration because with the gal being supercharged she will likely be without vacuum much of the time) I converted the brake booster into a small reservoir as well. This was done by using an alternate OEM check valve in the booster and then using another OEM in line check valve. The vacuum source for the exhaust is a closed system so there are no concerns for brake degradation.

Here the custom exhaust by-pass system is being plumbed for vacuum from the electric solenoid to the two rear diverter valves. During this process the vacuum line was run inside the driver side fender liner and than all of the driver side under body panels were removed so it could be run to the rear protected from the elements except for the last few feet at the rear of the gal.

One of the items that this customer wanted was an easily accessible fire extinguisher within the car however after researching options we found that very little was offered for the E39 M5. As such we contacted Sam at BK Auto a firm that fabricates an extremely cool billet aluminum quick release mounting system for a variety of marquees with heavy emphasis on the Porsche and Corvette Club Sport folks. They agreed to work with us to design a mounting system that would work specifically in the E39 M5 as well. The following pictures are of the various pieces as completed, being assembled, and then ultimately installed with the fire extinguisher neatly tucked in under the driver seat within in easy reach and by design very quick to remove. Certainly the completed assembly compliments the project and yet it will offer ever greater peace of mind for the owner.

Here the switches responsible for activating the vehicles strobe system and the custom exhaust diverter system have been mounted. When activated each has a discrete led that glows keeping you aware of the systems status. When off the switch becomes completely black and blends with the dash and the interior.

Here the gals heart is completely back together and this gal is ready to be exercised. The supercharger conversion which included a multitude of new systems have all been neatly integrated so that as this pictures indicates; the engine bay has a performance OEM look to it and what is equally if not even more important is the fact that the gal remains easy to work on whether by ones self or the local BMW dealer.